I spent some time last week with an old family friend, she is super crunchy, gives natural childbirth classes, and assists a local home birth midwife. I got the vibe from her that she views routine sonograms as potentially dangerous. Basically an unnecessary risk unless you are having complications. But she didn't give me any reasons or facts about it. Does anyone have any research links about whether or not sonograms are actually safe?

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__________________philippa
mama to elijah 08/10 & the sweet baby lost 09/09
... excitedly expecting someone new in October

They've never been proved harmful. They've also never been proved safe though. I don't think there is much research done on long term effects. I think they have their place (20 week u/s, high risk pregnancies, ect.) but I would definitely limit them if the baby looks fine at 20 weeks there seems to be no problems in your pregnancy.

My midwife, and another friend who is also a midwife, told me that the babies don't like them. They cause vibrations and make noise in the uterus, which might annoy the baby. I'm not sure how much of this is true. They also told me that they don't help the baby grow - the baby grows just fine on his own.

I read that the APA recommended having them only when medically necessary, not that they had been proven harmful exactly. Seems like less than 6 was the magic number? I forget. I only know that my baby shook her fists at the u/s tech the last time we had one, so I figured she wasn't happy about it!

there isn't any proof that they are safe. They used to think x-rays were safe for pregnant women. The US (ultrasound) uses the same technology that the Navy used and it harmed whales.
Here is an article about safety of US: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...oundwagner.asp
I don't get US unless medically indicated. I got one this pregnancy at 13 wks bc I was bleeding heavily for 3 wks and I figured I had m/c....interesting antedote, the baby had not started moving at that point. During the US, the baby went crazy, you could see the baby moving from the outside and on the screen. And after that, I didn't feel the baby move again until I was over 20 something weeks. And the 2 times I let the OB or MW use doppler, the baby went crazy and hid and I felt very uncomfortable with it. Many people think that doppler (the ones at the doctors and the ones for home use) are more harmful than ultrasound. I asked my OB to use a fetalscope and he said he would have to try and find one. I only have gone once, but next time, I plan on asking if he found it.

Interesting that some babies seemed bothered by them. I usually have several during my pregnancies to monitor size since my body doesn't seem to do well with babies over 8lbs. Yes, I know they are not always an accurate measurement tool, but it has given me some peace of mind when I can see what the estimates are.

My babies never seemed to be bothered by them at all. To the point where my daughter actually fell asleep during my 20 week ultrasound with her legs crossed before we could tell if she was a boy or girl.

I read that the APA recommended having them only when medically necessary, not that they had been proven harmful exactly. Seems like less than 6 was the magic number? I forget. I only know that my baby shook her fists at the u/s tech the last time we had one, so I figured she wasn't happy about it!

They've never been proved harmful. They've also never been proved safe though. I don't think there is much research done on long term effects. I think they have their place (20 week u/s, high risk pregnancies, ect.) but I would definitely limit them if the baby looks fine at 20 weeks there seems to be no problems in your pregnancy.

This is suspicious to me. There's barely any research done on these machine used frequently on pregnant women? Often in the medical industry when there's things like this it's not researched because they know the outcome. It's also said here in the US that cell phones and microwaves are generally harmless (although a little info has been coming out about cells). In other countries people are told that yes, cell phones caused your brain tumor. That's unheard of here.

Some of the harm of u/s is actually due to the unnecessary stress it can cause. I've seen often even here on DS, women get an u/s, a call on friday saying that there's something not quite right and they need another one. Of course then you're stressed out until your next appt and can be for nothing.

"Now, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding a project that aims to temporarily sterilize men by blasting their scrotums with ultrasound. The burst of ultrasound energy, it turns out, disrupts the normal biological function of the testes, making the man infertile for six months." (Yet it's totally safe for a baby! Hm...) http://www.ktradionetwork.com/health...-to-the-fetus/

"Ultrasound is loud. It no doubt causes tissue disruption and damage in a fetus, and it certainly creates stress and shock for the baby."

I haven't been able to find the info on this again but I recall reading that u/s are not routinely checked and no guidelines and can be giving on much higher dose than it's supposed to or is needed.

"But scientists say prolonged and frequent use of ultrasound could be harmful after it emerged that it causes brain abnormalities in the developing foetuses of pregnant mice.

An American research team emphasises that the benefits of ultrasound for diagnosing problems in pregnancy still outweigh these potential risks (wait a second! Risks? Thought it was safe?? Hm...), which have yet to be confirmed in human studies Ah... It's safe because the risks that have been found haven't been confirmed.). But even though the study, by Dr Pasko Rakic at the Yale School of Medicine, used rodents, his team says it raises concerns about the non-medical use of ultrasound, where low intensity waves are used to take images of the unborn child."

Well DD is up crying with a nightmare or something or other. Pretty sure I have some more info so I'll be back

there isn't any proof that they are safe. They used to think x-rays were safe for pregnant women. The US (ultrasound) uses the same technology that the Navy used and it harmed whales.
Here is an article about safety of US: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...oundwagner.asp
I don't get US unless medically indicated. I got one this pregnancy at 13 wks bc I was bleeding heavily for 3 wks and I figured I had m/c....interesting antedote, the baby had not started moving at that point. During the US, the baby went crazy, you could see the baby moving from the outside and on the screen. And after that, I didn't feel the baby move again until I was over 20 something weeks. And the 2 times I let the OB or MW use doppler, the baby went crazy and hid and I felt very uncomfortable with it. Many people think that doppler (the ones at the doctors and the ones for home use) are more harmful than ultrasound. I asked my OB to use a fetalscope and he said he would have to try and find one. I only have gone once, but next time, I plan on asking if he found it.

Every time I go to my midwife he starts moving like crazy! He never moves that much!

I certainly hope they are okay. I have to have them all the time with how high risk I am!! We have to monitor baby and cervix or I could lose baby This is scary and sad. In the attempt to keep my baby, I could be causing it brain damage and other issues

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OMG!! Feb 28th, 2012!! Will be final addition to our other angels :